osaka art & design 2024 highlights: discover not-to-miss exhibitions and shows

osaka art & design 2024 turns the entire town into an art museum

Now in its second year, Osaka Art & Design (OAD) is set to transform the Japanese city into a sprawling art and design showcase from May 29th to June 25th, 2024. The event will feature nearly 50 venues, turning Osaka into an expansive museum stretching from Umeda to Namba. Attendees can explore a diverse array of art, furniture, and fashion as they move from gallery to store, experiencing the city in a new, creative light.

This year’s theme, Expanding Resonance, aims to foster interactions and unexpected synergies among participants. Through open expressions of beliefs, liberation from constraints, and a spirit of solidarity, the event promises to generate a dynamic and vibrant energy throughout Osaka. Individual hosts will present their own unique programs during OAD 2024. The Hankyu Department Store Osaka Umeda Main Store will host the Hankyu Art Fair 2024, showcasing and selling works by renowned artists such as Kohei Nawa, Daisuke Ohba, and Mika Shinagawa, alongside emerging talents. This fair aims to make living with art a common experience. Meanwhile, Takashimaya Osaka will feature light-themed textiles in a collaboration between acclaimed textile designer Reiko Sudo and the contemporary design studio we+, highlighting the forward-looking energy of modern Osaka. HIZO Market, an official program of OAD 2024, will exhibit and sell prototypes and unique works that have not yet reached the market, showcasing the creative process through trial and error. 

key visual design by Kenta Shibano | all images courtesy of Osaka Art & Design

NUNO×we+ Textile Installation in OSAKA

In the immersive installation ‘nuno nuno’ designed by we+, Sudo-led NUNO’s expressive textiles become cubes and fill the space within the Takashimaya Osaka Store. The installation accompanies an exhibition focusing on four production areas in NUNO’s collections—Kurume, Tsuruoka, Kyoto, and Kiryu.

exhibition period: May 29 – June 25, 2024
location: Takashimaya Osaka Store, 6th Floor Rose Patio
participating creators: NUNO (Reiko Sudo), we+

the textile installation by NUNO x we+

edra | LIVING HOUSE.salone

At the LIVING HOUSE.salone store in Osaka, Italian design brand edra will showcase a selection of its products that blend tradition and innovation. ‘We create products based on the ideas of talented creators using high-quality materials and advanced technology in pursuit of presence and comfort,’ the company says.

exhibition period: May 29 – June 25, 2024 
location: LIVING HOUSE.salone
participating creators: edra

products of Italian brand edra

Mr. Brainwash’s Contemporary Art Exhibition

Thierry Guetta, and widely known as Mr. Brainwash, is a French-born, Los Angeles-based street artist. His journey into the art world was chronicled in the 2010 Banksy-directed film Exit Through the Gift Shop. Initially, Guetta ran a used clothing store and was an amateur videographer. His introduction to street art came through his cousin, the artist Invader. Guetta spent years filming street artists throughout the 2000s and swiftly transitioned into creating his own art after a casual suggestion from Banksy. The upcoming exhibition at Suiboku Gallery Osaka Store will highlight Mr. Brainwash’s original works. Additionally, the gallery will feature pieces from renowned artists as well as promising young talents poised to invigorate the future art scene.

exhibition period: May 29 – June 19, 2024
location: Suiboku Gallery Osaka Store
participating creators: Mr. Brainwash, Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, etc

Reach for Love by Mr. Brainwash

transparent paintings by Maki Harigane

At Espace de SONDE, artist Maki Harigane presents his three-dimensional works blending wire art and manga. The interplay between wire’s three-dimensional nature, often perceived as flat, and manga’s two-dimensional form, often perceived as three-dimensional, enables an expression that blurs the boundaries between wire and cartoon, two dimensions and three. 

exhibition period: May 29 – June 25, 2024
location: Espace de SONDE
participating creators: Maki Harigane

wire art by Maki Harigane

GREEN SEED installation

GREEN SEED is a large, temporary greenery decoration adorning the ceiling of a concourse in the heart of Umeda, bustling Osaka. Inspired by the emergence of a vibrant world amid a metropolis in early summer, it showcases a diverse array of plants thriving together in clusters. These lush greens symbolize various concepts, including the coexistence of humans and nature and optimism for the future. Since its inception in 2022, this annual early-summer project has captivated the attention of passersby. In its third year, known as the Final Chapter, the GREEN SEED will evolve into a towering Big Tree, marking the culmination of the project.

exhibition period: May 29 – June 25, 2024
location: Osaka Twin Towers North, 1st Floor North-South Concourse
participating creators: Kota Mochizuki (KOTA MOCHIZUKI)

HANKYU ART FAIR 2024

The Hankyu Department Store will host the Hankyu Art Fair 2024, where internationally acclaimed artists, as well as emerging young talents, will exhibit and sell their works. There will also be opportunities for interaction with the artists.

exhibition period: May 29 – June 10, 2024
location: Hankyu Umeda Main Store, 9th Floor Hankyu, Umeda Hall, Hankyu Umeda Gallery, Art Stage
participating creators: Kouhei Nawa, Daisuke Ohba, Mika Shinagawa, etc.

key visual for the Hankyu Art Fair 2024

CondeHouse and the International Furniture Design Competition Asahikawa

The CondeHouse store and office in Osaka will showcase products born from  from the previous editions of the triennial International Furniture Design Competition Asahikawa (IFDA). The 12th IFDA will be held this year to take on technological challenges and to propose and disseminate new lifestyle culture from Asahikawa, Hokkaido. 

exhibition period: May 29 – June 25, 2024
location: CondeHouse Osaka Shop
participating creators: CondeHouse

Barca Lounge Chair by Condehouse

Collaborative works by Nick Walker and She One

The Daimaru Umeda Store will present an exhibition and sale of collaborative works by graphic artist Nick Walker and street artist She One. The sale will be held via a bidding system.

exhibition period: May 29 – June 11, 2024
location: Daimaru Umeda Store, 1st Floor East
participating Creators: Nick Walker, SheOne

Nick Walker and She One

a Smile and a Thought by Lisa Tofft

Swedish creator Lisa Tofft will exhibit her intricately crafted jewelry and interior design objects that aim to bring comfort to people’s hearts. The artist expresses the subtleties and psychology of life through humorous animal character in her designs, hoping to ometimes she warms your heart, and other times she makes you realize what’s important in life. Art works from the traveling exhibition Söpö Museo, sponsored by Nordic Gift, will be displayed at the Arco store in Osaka. 

exhibition period: May 29 – June 22, 2024
location: Alcostore Osaka
participating creators: Lisa Toft

jewelry by Lisa Tofft

Ritzwell 2024 Product Exhibition

At the 2024 Salone del Mobile, Ritzwell unveiled its latest product series for 2024, featuring the CONSTANTINO ARMCHAIR and MT LIVING TABLE. Additionally, the brand introduced new colors to its catalog, refreshing older products and enhancing their appeal. Osaka Art & Design will showcase these new products and materials ahead of their official release at the end of June. Visitors can also look forward to demonstrations and workshops conducted by skilled craftsmen during the exhibition.

exhibition period: May 29 – June 25, 2024
location: Rittzwell Osaka Showroom
participating creators: Ritzwell

the CONSTANTINO ARMCHAIR by Ritzwell

Hopeful Monster

exhibition period: May 29 – June 25, 2024
location: Nankai Namba Station, 2nd Floor Concourse
participating creators: Maki Takao 

Spillflower Art – Spilling Light and Flowers

exhibition period: May 29 – June 25, 2024
location: JR Osaka Station, Osaka Station City, 5th Floor Space-Time Plaza
participating creators: Creative Quartet

Paper and Prayers – Paper Altar

exhibition period: May 29 – June 23, 2024
location: Takeo Yodoyabashi Sample Book Store
participating creators: Haruka Misawa, Koichiro Oniki

project info: 

name: Osaka Art & Design 2024: Resonance—Expanding the Echo
location: Umeda, Dojima, Nakanoshima, Tenma, Kyomachibori, Minami-Senba, Shinsaibashi, Namba, and other locations within Osaka City
dates: May 29 – June 25 2024